“Blue-eyed people” isn’t a class of humanity. Why should “black people” be?

Posted on April 26, 2020 by Steve Simms

There are no economic disparities between blue-eyed and brown-eyed people, because America sees eye-color different than skin-color. Why?

Search for: Off the RACE Track book.

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Perhaps consciousness is spiritual

Posted on April 23, 2020 by Steve Simms

Now read this! Consciousness: We all have it, but none of us really knows what it is or how it works, yet we can focus it as we choose.

When reason results in no realistic answers, perhaps it’s time to surrender to the voice of the risen Jesus and let Him take over. There’s no format or formula for awareness “Christ in you” — just surrender.

A glove, frozen solid, won’t bend with your hand. A frozen heart and/or mind won’t bend when prompted by the living Jesus.

I’ve found that if I let Jesus personally guide you thru life’s rapids, it’s much more effective than standing in life’s turbulence and trying to control it. To led by the living Jesus is to be free from the domination of desire, feelings, fears, and anger. However, when my words aren’t kind and Christ-led, my life won’t be either.

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Christricity is electrifying

Posted on April 23, 2020 by Steve Simms

Jesus said His followers will experience Holy Spirit currents flowing from within them (John 7:38). I call that “Christricity.” The living Jesus is the voltage that powers my soul!

Life is wonderful when it’s humming with Christricity (even during difficult times). Christricity is shocking! It’s the living Jesus freely flowing from a human heart. Be a live wire, not a coiled up cable. Let Christ’s current flow from within you. Perhaps the reason more people today don’t find Christianity to be shocking, is that church operates at such a low voltage.

Religion too often pulls the plug on the living Jesus and substitutes sermons for His power and presence. However, a lecture about electricity can’t light anything up. A talk without power is words soon forgotten.

Modern Christianity is too often like a phone that’s lost its charge and the only charger is the presence of the living Jesus. Early Christians plugged into community (ekklesia) and helped one another stay charged with the world-shocking power of Christricity.

Christianity without Christricity is like a city (or a home) without electricity. The world needs people who will plug into the living Jesus and surrender their resistance to God’s power flow.

The human heart is designed to be an electric light blub, gloriously illuminated by free-flowing Christricity. A thousand sermons about Christ can’t compare with the shock and awe of experiencing the flowing of His presence within your heart. Your circuitry is wired for the risen Jesus. Experience the wonderful joy Christricity flowing within you.

Concerning Christricity (the living Jesus flowing from within), too many people who say they’re Christians, are non-conductors. When Christ’s current is flowing thru the electrical grid of your heart, many forces try to disconnect your Christricity. Turning on Christricity can switch you from human effort to the power of God. Sin is the circuit breaker that cuts off Christricity. It always blows a fuse.

A Christian without Christricity is experiencing a sever power outage. Any Christian whose Christricity has been disconnected, needs to plug into the presence of the risen Jesus and make some sparks! All screens are boring if we don’t keep them plugged in or charged up. Unplugged or uncharged Christianity is too.

Christricity is an amazing source of creativity. Plug into the power of Christricity and keep yourself fully charged with the presence of the risen Jesus. If you ever surrender its inner flow, it will transform your life. (“Christ in you, the hope of glory.”) The bill for Christricity was paid at the Cross.

The Holy Spirit is the high voltage transmission line for Christricity. For high voltage Christianity, read the Bible daily with an open heart, as you listen to and obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

Christricity makes the soul grow fonder of God and of people. It will light up your heart if you don’t short circuit it. “Quench not the Spirit.”

How’s your “current” relationship with Christ? Is the presence of the risen Jesus flowing thru you? Ecstatic Christricity is “joy unspeakable and full of glory.” Search: The Joy Of Early Christianity.

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Perhaps people who confuse public health measures with oppression should learn the details of American slavery & Jim Crow.

Posted on April 23, 2020 by Steve Simms

Maybe people who confuse public health measures with oppression should learn the details of American slavery and Jim Crow. This can help: https://www.amazon.com/Off-RACE-Track-Color-Blind-Color-Kind/dp/1726663884

The “Call It A Fake Pandemic” Conspiracy is trying to make the public believe COVID 19 isn’t serious and caution isn’t needed. Conspiracy theories are built on the foundation of fabrication and speculation and are best either ignored or intensely researched and fact checked.

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Untwisting Scripture, untangling Bible verses

Posted on April 22, 2020 by Steve Simms

Scripture is designed to help us “Zoom” with the risen Jesus and stay “inline” with Him. Unfortunately it is often twisted in ways that aren’t helpful. Let’s try to untangle a few Bible verses.

The Bible points us to a glorious place to meet with the living Jesus — the “innernet.” “Christ in you the hope of glory.” Jesus invented live streaming on the “innernet.” He told His disciples that “rivers of living water will flow from within them.”

Jesus said, “Follow Me.” He never said: “Do your own thing during the week, but at least go to church on Sunday.” Jesus said that His followers, “must deny themselves.” He didn’t tell them to seek self-fulfillment.

When Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is at hand,” He wasn’t referring to a human politician. When Jesus said, “Repent,” He didn’t mean for you to keep doing what you’ve always been doing. Jesus told His disciples to fish for people, not to fish for political advantage over others.

When Jesus said, “Blessed are those who are persecuted” He didn’t mean those who are retaliated against for their own meanness. When Jesus said, “To the one who knocks, the door will be opened,” He wasn’t telling us to “knock,” criticize, and insult people.

Jesus said: “Blessed are you when people insult you,” not “when you insult people.” That’s an important difference. Jesus told us to forgive, not to do everything we can to get back at people.

“The Bible calls us to humble ourselves, not to make accusations about other people. What’s it take to be taught directly by God? “He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them His way.” -Ps. 25:9 Jesus said that He came to call “sinners to repentance,” not to excuses or denial.

Jesus is knocking
On doors in hearts,
Saying, “Roll away your pride,
And let Me in.”

Jesus didn’t say that His followers need to be taught about the Holy Spirit. He said that we need to be taught by the Holy Spirit.

Jesus said: “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.” He never said: “Call yourselves ‘laymen’ & let the ‘clergy’ do the work.” Jesus said, “Watch out for false prophets,” not, “Believe whatever any preacher, who has a church or TV show, preaches.”

Church leadership tends to overreach, unintentionally supplanting the authority of the living Jesus. The 23rd Psalm says: “The Lord is my shepherd (pastor).” Is He yours? For me, the risen Jesus is essential. I don’t know how I’d make it without Him living inside of me.

Church on skype reduces the hype — fog machines and colored lights have much less impact when filtered thru a devise. It might also help us to untangle Scripture if it encourages to read it for ourselves.

You can’t be hateful and grateful at the same time. They don’t work together. Daily reading the Bible with an open heart will release gratefulness into your heart.

Did Jesus really say, “In the world you will have tribulation?” Yep. But He added, “But be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” Search Amazon for: The Joy Of Early Christianity.

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Bias can cause you to disagree with people before they say a word.

Posted on April 19, 2020 by Steve Simms

Assumptions lead to stereotypes, stereotypes to bias, bias to prejudice, prejudice to the feeling of supremacy, and supremacy to abuse. The thoughts, attitudes, beliefs and behaviors that you welcome or embrace today, will predispose you for more of the same tomorrow.

Bias is so complex, that it can easily become a psychological complex, however, it’s frequently undiagnosed. The goal of communication is to get people to think beyond their biases, not to arouse their anger.

Bias can cause you to disagree with people before they say a word. Insulting people who we disagree with and/or don’t understand, isn’t very good for cordial human relations. If “all men are created equal” as the US Declaration of Independence proclaims, then feelings of superiority are delusional.

When desires determine beliefs, they can easily pull us away from truth. Then they can lead us to bias. However, if someone disagrees with you, you can still learn from and appreciate their insights.

Our own biases often lurk and hide securely, deep within us. That’s because it’s very difficult for us to discover truth we don’t want to admit. Truth and thought sometimes flow together, but often don’t.

Thinking that you aren’t prejudice is bias against your own ability to be deceived. If you aren’t bias, you can admit what you don’t know and honestly explore information that challenges your perceptions. However, sometimes something we know to be true is made inadmissible to our mind because it interferes with what we want to be true.

As human beings, bias can buy us some narcissism, but it can’t afford the joyous freedom of an open, honest heart. Bias looks for affirmation of its beliefs. It slants, spins, twists (and even blocks) any information that challenges them.

People who came to hold their opinions without using reason, strongly resist being reasoned out of them. Programmed consumers of opinions and information, find it very difficult to be honest observers who search for truth for themselves.

It’s very difficult to see injustice that our culture has trained us not to see. Frequently we overlook the “research” we have done by our daily living. What we have accidently discovered is often neglected.

Pride speaks to protect itself and hide its shortcomings. Humility speaks to bring truth to light, regardless of its impact on self. Our ability to be objective about people’s views diminishes if we don’t like them (or if we believe that they don’t like us).

Here’s why I blog: Writing is therapeutic for me. Even if no one reads it, likes it, or agrees with it, I sure feel better by doing it. I want to write like Paul: Read Scripture with an open heart; listen to Jesus; and write what He shows me.

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Hyper-pretension will raise your blood pressure.

Posted on April 19, 2020 by Steve Simms

Hyper-pretension will raise your blood pressure. The greater the disparity between our opinions of ourself and reality, the stronger is our prentese.

Pretense is concocted to hide what you don’t like about yourself, and therefore is indicative of low self-esteem.

In our popular culture, pretense prevents truth from seeming true, while fiction, fabrication and fantasy are promoted and applauded. The pretense of faith goes poof in life’s fiery furnace but the presence of the risen Jesus will protect you there and lead you out.

High performance with low opportunity usually receives much less credit than moderate performance with great opportunity.

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Corona virus exposes glaring racial disparities

Posted on April 17, 2020 by Steve Simms

The COVID 19 pandemic is revealing glaring racial disparities. (Racial disparity began when skin color was declared to be a hierarchy of human value.) Racial hierarchy (a particular color supremacy) and racial equality are mutually exclusive. There’s no eye color disparity because it has never been defined to be a measure of human value.

If many Americans today are ready to run away from “stay at home” orders during the COVID 19 pandemic, just think how American slaves must have felt. As Jesus refused to stay in a sealed tomb, America’s heroic, runaway slaves refused to stay in the bondage of human trafficking.

Historical restorationists try to reinstate events and facts that have been left out of history books. Revisionists try to distort facts. Any shame regarding skin color is in the heart of any person who thinks his color makes him better than people of another color.

Color-blindness either overlooks racial disparities or blames them on individual failings and shortcomings. Pride and pretense give birth to prejudice– putting other people down to make yourself feel better. I find the best place to fight prejudice and overcome evil, is often in my own heart. In a just society, skin color is neither an asset or a liability. Search: Off the RACE Track book.

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3 kinds of thinking: self-directed, distorted, & Spirit-prompted

Posted on April 17, 2020 by Steve Simms

There are 3 currents streaming in human consciousness: 1) choice, 2) confusion, and 3) conscience. Choice is self-directed thinking; confusion is distorted thinking; and conscience is Spirit-prompted thinking.

Confusion (distorted thinking) entered the human race when choice began to override conscience. When self-directed thinking ignores Spirit-prompted thinking, it leads to distorted thinking. When self-directed thinking submits to Spirit-prompted thinking, confusion is replaced by inner peace.

When Adam and Eve chose to disobey God and to eat the fruit of “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,” mankind fell away from God’s Spirit. Distorted thinking stays distorted, no matter how often or how loud it is presented (or how faithfully it is followed).

When choice regularly overrides conscience, thinking is distorted and falls into bondage to self-destructive attitudes and habits. Self-directed thinking (choice) can never fully overcome doubt and confusion, but Spirit-led thinking releases a preponderance of inner peace.

The inner pain and confusion that occurs when choice trumps conscience is called guilt. Conscience (Spirit-prompted thinking) drives out confusion by simplifying choice to either “obey or disobey.”

Self-directed thinking tends to move toward narcissism and a distorted ego. Spirit-prompted thinking always moves in the direction of truth and humility.

Self-directed thinking and Spirit-prompted thinking often contradict each other and then we must choose which one to follow and which one to quench. When choices become habitual and we become unaware that our self-directed thinking is overriding our conscience, we get stuck in guilt. The best use of choice is to overcome confusion and guilt, by choosing to follow your conscience.

Is time a timebomb or a timeout? When spent in self-directed thinking it can devastate; in Spirit-prompted thinking, refresh and heal.

Spirit-prompted thinking renews your consciousness and makes you aware of many amazing, unseen things. Spirit-prompted thinking realizes that sometimes we need to sit and wait so we don’t interrupt God while He sets up our next steps. You can jumpstart Spirit-prompted thinking by humbly reading the Bible, with an open heart, everyday. If your life feels empty, the One who left behind an empty tomb, can fill it.

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Neither Starbucks or Jesus likes lukewarm . . .

Posted on April 15, 2020 by Steve Simms

Lukewarm Christianity tends to scold people who are ice cold, stop those who are red hot, and entertain the rest. See Revelation 3:16

Cold Christianity ignores the living Jesus. Hot adores Him. Lukewarm bores the people in between. Hot Christianity is fired up! Cold Christianity is shut down. Lukewarm Christianity is toned-down.

Hot Christianity’s bold! Cold’s not. Lukewarm’s automated like an online bot. The more you breathe the air of lukewarmness, the harder it is to passionately follow and obey the living Jesus. Christ-followers are compelled to obey the risen Jesus, by the fire of His love burning in their heart, not by outward coercion.

Some people like lukewarm Christianity. Other people feel obligated to it. Some just tolerate it, while others search for red hot faith.

If you try to balance hot and cold Christianity, you become lukewarm. Perhaps it’s better to make a bold choice. Be hot!

If Starbucks served lukewarm, they’d lose their followers. Perhaps that’s why Jesus wants His disciples “hot or cold.”

Rejecting lukewarm Christianity, is a biblical concept (Revelation 3:16) that many people prefer not to hear about. It’s hard to clearly see our own lukewarmness in times of normalcy, but disruption often releases fresh insight to those who are open to it.

Christian spirituality is much deeper than sociality, because it involves direct interaction with Jesus and Spirit-prompted interaction with others. Christians tend to memorialize Jesus as historical, but often neglect to remember and surrender to Him as present and living.

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